Improvement in registers for account-books



UNITED Sri-tras PATENT OFFICE.

A. F. JONES, OF DOUGLAS, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN REGISTERS FOR ACCOUNT-BOOKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l10,1106, dated September 29, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, A. F. JONES, ot' Douglas, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and improved table for accountants, which I term the Merchants Monitor and I do hereby declare that the following is a correct description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure l is a plan of the table and casing. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same with the case of books I removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical sect-ion through the axis of the spindle by which the table revolves, and through the centers of two of the cases of books. Fig. 4 is an isometric view ot' one of the cases containing a tier of books.

With many manufacturers, with storekeepers, who have many accounts, and others it has become the practice to have accounts kept in small books, where each item is entered as the transaction occurs, thus each persons account is always posted, and each entry the only and the original one. This system avoids the labor and risk of error in transferring through day-book, journal, and ledger; but as each persons account is kept in a separate book, instead of all being kept in a ledger, it becomes desirable to arrange these'small account-books so they can be readily found. The method most commonly adopted is to have a long case filled with a convenient number of tiers ot books, each book having printed the name ot' the person whose account it contains, on its end, the partition under or over the book having a corresponding name upon it. The objections Vto this arrangement are, the liability ot' the the table occupies but little room, and is more convenient for the clerks, as two or three may stand near it, and with facility iind the book wanted, as they are numbered as well as alpliabeticall y arranged.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation by explaining the accompanying drawings.

A is the outer cases; B, the revolving table, having a spindle, C, which turns in a step, D, in the lower part of the case A, and having an upper bearing at E. The table is arranged for six cases, l, and one case, I', each containing a tier of eight books 5 but the number ot' cases of books may be increased or diminished, as also the number of books in a case. The spaces K between the bookcases are for gures, to which the numbers on the books correspond, and also for the names of persons, the account-book for any person being in the nearest partition to the number and name. The names in practice are made so that they can readily be removed and a new one substituted. The blocks representing ac count-books are numbered from one to `fortyeight.

The merchants monitor may be placed in an opening between the counting-room and the sales-room, so that persons in diiferent rooms can have ready access, which could not be arranged with the long eases unless open through and the books and case lettered on both front and back. For those who have no tire-prooi' safe, I propose to make the outer casing with doors that will draw together and fasten, inclosing the whole table, thus locking up the account-books, and mak ing the monitor portable.

Having thus described the construction and operation ot' my invention, what l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The merchants monitor, being circular, to economize room, revolving, for greater convenience and to save steps by bringing the books round to the operator, with movable cases, and alphabetically and numerically arranged, essentially as above described.

A.. F. JONES.

Witnesses GEO. P. BRYANT, W. D. J oNEs. 

